Jones Beach State Park

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Jones Beach State Park is a state park of the U.S. state of New York. It is located in southern Nassau County, in the hamlet of Wantagh, on Jones Beach Island, a barrier island linked to Long Island by the Meadowbrook Parkway and Wantagh Parkway across the Great South Bay. A Greenway alongside the Wantagh Parkway allows bicycling, skating or walking about 2 miles (3 Km) from Cedar Creek County Park into the State Park. A similar route to Long Beach is under consideration.

The park is renowned for its excellent beaches, 6.5 mi (10 km) in length, facing the open Atlantic Ocean and furnishes one of the most popular summer recreational locations for the New York City area. Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, an outdoor arena in the park, is a popular musical concert venue. The park also has a 2 mi (3.2 km) long boardwalk, as well as dining and catering facilities that are popular sites for private parties and weddings.

The park was created during the administration of Robert Moses as Long Island State Park Commissioner as part of the development of parks and parkways on Long Island. Several homes on High Hill Beach were barged further down the island to West Gilgo Beach. Built in 1920s its many buildings and facilities feature Art Deco Architecture. It is named after Major Thomas Jones, of Massapequa, a Long Island landowner in the early 1700s.

Jones Beach's West End features a Nature Preserve named after Theodore Roosevelt and a designated Surfing area. It is open by permit only to Stargazers and Fisherman at night.

On February 8, 1965, Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 crashed nearby after taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

For the past three years, Jones Beach has hosted an airshow during the last weekend of May.

As of 2006, parking cost $8.00 or a NY State Empire Passport can be used to park for free. The parking fees are usually charged till sundown. There are 6 main public areas along the boardwalk that can handle many as many as 250,000 visitors.